Guilty verdict in “huffing” car crash that killed three teens

A Stark County man has been found guilty of two felonies in a deadly car crash that prosecutors say was caused when he passed out while “huffing” to get high.

Morgan Blakey, 20, was found guilty of aggravated driving under the influence and reckless homicide by Circuit Court Judge Ted Hamer on Thursday, June 13, 2013 in Henry County, Illinois.

Blakey was at the wheel November 29, 2011 when he blacked out while driving a carload of friends on a country road in Kewanee. Three of them died. Kelsey Clifford, 15, Levi Berg, 16, and Bradley Wood, Jr, 18, were just along for the ride.

Judge Hamer said prosecutors proved their case, noting Blakey was captured on store video buying a can of Ultra Dusting before the crash. He says Blakey later admitted buying it to police.

Hamer called it an emotional case where “regardless of what happens here today, there are no winners.”

Defense attorney Doug Scovil though says Blakey blacked out because he suffered a seizure while driving.

Parents of the three boys who died in the crash hugged and cried after the verdict was read.

“I agree with the judge. There are no winners. The boys died, he goes to prison. I’m sure he didn’t wake up that morning and say, ‘I’m going to kill three boys.’ No,” said Angela Deffenbaugh, the mother of Bradley Wood.

“But when they get behind that wheel, they’re not only responsible for themselves, they’re responsible for their passengers also,” she said.